Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-07-29
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

No better exposition of Republican
doctrine has recently been made than that
contained in the article by Gov. Foraker
of Ohio in the current issue Of the Forum.
He covers the ground completely. He
says. in substance:
As far as platform declarations are con-
cerned all parties agree that the right of
suffrage should be maintained inviolate;
nevertheless, the fact is that the Demo-
cratic party is in power to-day ouly be-
cause by the most shameful offences it
has overthrONn this right in many places
and States at the South, and emboldened
by it, successes there it has sought to
succeed elsewhere by like means, as at
Chicago, indianapolis, Columbus and
Cincinnati. This is said TO be an old
question and a sectional one, and there
are many who affect to dispose of all al
lusions to it with "A contemptuous sneer
about the bloody shirt. The older the
question the more reason for its speedy
settlement. That the crimes complained
of are largely confined TO a particular To-
cality is no reason why their commission
should not be stopped and the cry of
bloody shirt but adds insult to injury.
The truth is that this question is upon
us now as it never has been before: not
as a question of the past, but of the pres
ent and the future. That the South was
made solid by bloody and fraudulent
methods is as indisputable an historical
fact as the war itself SO long as these
election frauds affected only local results.
the great mass of tile people appeared to
be and probably were largely indifferent
about them. They did not realize, at
least not keenly, that they were injured
by the triumph of fraud in the election
of even congressman and electors. so
| long as the general result was satisfactO-
ry il was easy, as well as agreeable, to
believe that. in so far as such wrongs
would not right themselves, it was the
duty of Others to correct them. But a
change has been wrought. This dream
of Indifference was rudely interrupted by
the presidential election of 1854. On ac-
count of the enfranchi~ement and conse-
quent representation of the blacks, these
States (of the SOUTH had in the last
Presidential election thirty-eight eecto
raj votes. TO not one of which would
they have been otherwise entitled, and
every one of which would have been cast
for Blaine and Logan if the will of the
people they represented could have con
trolled them. If these votes had beer
simply blotted out and not cast at all
Mr.. Cleveland could not have beer
elected. The consequence is that Mr.
Cleveland is President because the white
! Democrats of the South not only cas-
for him the votes that rightfully belonged
to them. but also those thirty-eight vote.
which they fraudulently appropriated tC
their own use.
No one who can remember the veal
and dependent condition of the country
in 1850 need to be told how perfectly
free trade did its appointed work. On
the other hand, Notwithstanding tn,
wastes of the war. we have in twenty
six years swelled the aggregate of ou
wealth from Sl4 900 000, 900 to $4,000,
100000. The prosperity thus represented
beneticially affects every human bein;
in the United States. 1t is manifested b,
new farms, towns, cities. railroads. an,
every kind of manufacturing industr.
and improvement that can be suggested
by our natural advantages or created b.
the skill, ingenuity and patriotism of ou
countrymen. The old time tock argu
ment of the free trader, that tariff dutie
are tax on the consumer, has been s.
completely exploded by practical result
that ii is no longer heard of except onl,
from those who obstinately refuse to Sc
the conclusive demonstrations to the con
trary that abound on every hand. If
be said that no harm has come to the pol
icy or injury in consequence to the busi
ness of the country from a Democratic
administration the answer is that Re
publican Senate has made that impossi
BILE. Had it not been for this hindranc
Democratic tendencies TO free trad
would have assumed definite form in leg
islatiye enactments as they have in othe
respects. The Republican party shoul
be restored to power, therefore, in orde
that there may be no further progress tc
ward free trade and that the necessar
reviews of the tariff and control of on
, revenue system may be in the hands O
the friends of American industry an
national development.